Full Day Tour - American Sites

La Cambe - Ste Mere Eglise - Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc - Omaha Beach - American Cemetery etcUsually running from 8.30am to 5.30pm or 9.00am to 6.00pm. This is my most popular tour, covering the main American DDay sites in a busy but informative day. The itinerary below is a guideline only. Some clients do not want to visit the Airborne museum and would prefer me to show them more places. It also depends how long you want to spend at the sites and what the weather is like.

In the morning we visit the La Cambe German Cemetery. A powerful place, with a well thought out visitors' center and a huge wall map of Normandy - useful to start my tour briefing. Then we head off to the market town of Sainte Mere Eglise made famous in the Longest Day film and the center of the American Airborne drops. I will explain the role of the paratroopers and walk you around the square. If you like, you can visit the amazing museum which has many unique displays and exhibits.

Utah Beach is our next stop, where we will see the beach and memorials and learn what happened on June 6th 1944. Half-day tours do not allow enough time to visit Utah, which is a shame. Though the fighting was less fierce on June 6th itself, a tough campaign for Cherbourg commenced there and to understand the American role on DDay it is an important stop.

We usually have lunch at Le Roosevelt cafe, known for its local mussels and oysters and a variety of snacks are available. WW2 memorabilia and signatures of hundreds of veterans cover the walls and there are lots of souvenirs for sale.

In the afternoon we will leave the Utah sector behind and travel to Pointe du Hoc where I will show you around the cliff-top German gun battery. Here you can see the craters and bunkers and you will hear about how the Rangers scaled the cliffs to destroy the dangerous canons. From there we will head to Omaha Beach and the Dog Green sector made famous in Saving Private Ryan. I will explain the landings on DDay and guide you around the memorials. We will then travel to another part of the beach for a second stop, perhaps the bluffs at WN60 overlooking Fox Green beach or maybe the memorials in Saint-Laurent sur Mer on Dog Red and Easy Green. Where we stop will depend on the weather and how much time we have. Finally we will visit the American Cemetery where over 9000 Battle of Normandy victims lay to rest. I will take you to some notable graves and allow you free time to pay your respects.

If there is time other places can be visited during the day such as the church in Angoville-au-Plain where two American medics saved many lives, the memorial at Brecourt Manor and the Richard Winters Leadership Statue.